Seattle Man Concerned Over Cold Before Jump -- He, Two Other Sky Divers Die In South Pole Plunge

Before Steve Mulholland left for Antarctica to jump out of an airplane, he told folks he was concerned about the extreme cold but that they shouldn't worry. He'd spent a few seasons in Antarctica, studying the climate, learning the landscape. I'll be fine, he told them.

And the trip should have gone smoothly; Mulholland sky dived every weekend.

But then came the news: One of the first sky dives ever attempted at the South Pole ended with three people dead Saturday after their parachutes failed.

Mulholland, a Seattle resident known for "base jumping" last year off the Space Needle, was among the dead. Base jumping is parachuting from fixed objects such as buildings, cliffs, and bridges.

Dennis Papa of Seattle, a friend of Mulholland's for nearly a decade, said the cold was a major concern for Mulholland but that "he knew what he was doing. He's spent the last few seasons down there as a construction engineer, building outposts for scientists. He knows the territory. He knows the cold. This wasn't supposed to be a big deal."

Beth Melius, Mulholland's longtime companion, said: "This was nothing to worry about. I have no idea what happened. . . ."

Michael McDowell, a spokesman for Adventure Network International, a London firm that organized the trip, said by telephone from Germany today that the dead parachutists were among two teams - a four-man team and a two-man team - that jumped in quick succession at around 8,500 feet over the South Pole.

McDowell said the four-man team went first, but only one survived.

"Two of the parachutes appear not to have deployed at all, and one hardly deployed," McDowell said. "It's a very sad situation,"

Two of the dead were U.S. citizens - Mulholland, 36, and 43-year-old Ray Miller Jr. of Tiffin, Ohio. The third was a 49-year-old Austrian. Each had paid $22,000 to take part.

The other three divers - an American and two Norwegians - landed safely, he said.

McDowell said he spoke earlier today with the survivor of the first team, who hinted to him that the accident was caused by an error in judgment, rather than equipment failure.

"He's shaken up," McDowell said of the survivor.

He said he hopes to talk to him again soon for a fuller account of what happened.

"You're flying into a white surface, which certainly can affect altitude estimation. But the divers did have an altitude meter, which they adjusted before their jump," McDowell said. "Of course, one of the things we still have to consider is: Could the cold have caused something in the equipment to freeze up? Maybe. But you also have three jumpers who landed successfully . . ."

McDowell added that one of the dead jumpers was wearing a helmet camera, though it wasn't clear if the footage survived.

Adventure Network is waiting for approval from the family to examine it, he added.

A notice circulated earlier to U.S. Antarctic staff by the National Science Foundation representative at McMurdo Station, provided this account:

The sky divers made their attempt yesterday morning from a Twin Otter aircraft, the type Adventure Network usually uses to fly tourists to the South Pole for a quick visit.

The accident only became clear when the small plane landed to pick them up.

When just three of the jumpers appeared, U.S. servicemen from a nearby base joined the hunt.

"They went out in snowmobiles and found the first body very quickly. The other two were close by," McDowell said.

"I am mystified. These were extremely experienced sky divers who had each jumped hundreds of times. We don't have any clue as to what happened," McDowell said.

"They all brought their own parachutes, which they packed themselves," he added."There are always risks involved with parachuting, and you can never cancel them all out."

Two of the dead men were coordinators for the jump and had briefed the others beforehand. All wore protective clothing against the cold, although the drop would only have lasted 90 seconds to two minutes.

Melius said the cold-shielding equipment made Mulholland look like an astronaut, bulky and clumsy.

"He knew what he was getting into," she said. "He knew that area. You know, I wasn't even worried about it. . . . This was no big deal."

Mulholland was interviewed in November 1996 after a base jumper was hurt when her chute failed to open fully during a promotion at the Space Needle.

At that time, he said base jumping was no different than Indy car racing or a hydroplane race. "Any athletic endeavor will have some risk involved," he said.

Dozens of people have jumped at the North Pole, but few try at the South Pole, mainly because of the expense and logistical difficulties. McDowell said he thought two of the three dead men had jumped at the North Pole (Mulholland hadn't).

Adventure Network, which has offices in Chile and England, flew the bodies and survivors out yesterday to its base camp at Patriot Hills on the South American side of Antarctica.

Because no nation claims Antarctica, private companies can organize expeditions to any part of the continent they can reach.

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